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• test
  test

  noun

  the means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of anything is determined; a means of trial.
• test.
  test.

  abbreviation

  testator.
• Test.
  Test.

  abbreviation

  Testament.

Trivia Time

Test comes from a Latin word referring to what?

Test Your Knowledge

test

¹ American  

[test] / tɛst /

noun

1. the means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of anything is determined; a means of trial.

   Synonyms:

   assay, proof

2. the trial of the quality of something.

   to put to the test.

3. a particular process or method for trying or assessing.

4. a set of questions, problems, or the like, used as a means of evaluating the abilities, aptitudes, skills, or performance of an individual or group; examination.

5. Psychology. a set of standardized questions, problems, or tasks designed to elicit responses for use in measuring the traits, capacities, or achievements of an individual.

6. Chemistry.

   1. the process of identifying or detecting the presence of a constituent of a substance, or of determining the nature of a substance, commonly by the addition of a reagent.

   2. the reagent used.

   3. an indication or evidence of the presence of a constituent, or of the nature of a substance, obtained by such means.

7. an oath or other confirmation of one's loyalty, religious beliefs, etc.

8. British. a cupel for refining or assaying metals.

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verb (used with object)

• tests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tested,
  past participle,  past
• testing
  present participle

1. to subject to a test of any kind; try.

   Synonyms:

   examine, prove, assay

2. Chemistry. to subject to a chemical test.

3. Metallurgy. to assay or refine in a cupel.

verb (used without object)

• tests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tested,
  past participle,  past
• testing
  present participle

1. to undergo a test or trial; try out.

2. to perform on a test.

   People test better in a relaxed environment.

3. to conduct a test.

   to test for diabetes.

test ² American  

[test] / tɛst /

noun

1. Zoology. the hard, protective shell or covering of certain invertebrates, as echinoderms or tunicates.

2. Botany. testa.

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test. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. testator.

2. testimony.

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Test. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Testament.

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test ¹ British  

/ tɛst /

verb

1. to ascertain (the worth, capability, or endurance) of (a person or thing) by subjection to certain examinations; try

2. (often foll by for) to carry out an examination on (a substance, material, or system) by applying some chemical or physical procedure designed to indicate the presence of a substance or the possession of a property

   to test food for arsenic

   to test for magnetization

3. (intr) to achieve a specified result in a test

   a quarter of the patients at the clinic tested positive for the AIDS virus

4. (tr) to put under severe strain

   the long delay tested my patience

5. to make an exploratory or initial approach; sound out

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noun

1. a method, practice, or examination designed to test a person or thing

2. a series of questions or problems designed to test a specific skill or knowledge

   an intelligence test

3. a standard of judgment; criterion

4. 1. a chemical reaction or physical procedure for testing a substance, material, etc

   2. a chemical reagent used in such a procedure

      litmus is a test for acids

   3. the result of the procedure or the evidence gained from it

      the test for alcohol was positive

5. sport See test match

6. archaic a declaration or confirmation of truth, loyalty, etc; oath

7. (modifier) performed as a test

   test drive

   test flight

test ² British  

/ tɛst /

noun

1. the hard or tough outer covering of certain invertebrates and tunicates

2. a variant of testa

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test Idioms  

1. see acid test; put to the test.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of test? A test is a series of questions or problems that is used to determine a person’s ability or understanding of something. More generally, test refers to a trial, experiment, or examination that is designed to determine the qualities or characteristics of someone or something. As a verb, test means to assess someone’s knowledge or abilities, to put someone or something through a trial, or to try something out. The word test has several other senses as a noun and a verb. A test is a collection of questions, tasks, or problems that are designed to see if a person understands a subject or to measure their ability to do something. Real-life examples: Most schooling involves taking tests in many subjects, such as math and history. Lawyers must do well on a particularly difficult test, known as the bar examination, to be able to practice law. Used in a sentence: I studied all night for my chemistry test. Test can also be used in this context as a verb meaning to administer such a test. Real-life examples: Teachers test their students’ knowledge by giving them quizzes and tests. Used in a sentence: Yes, you will be tested on this. As a noun, test also refers to an experiment or trial that is designed to discover information about something. Real-life examples: Scientists and researchers create many tests (often called experiments) to learn new information or to see if a hypothesis is correct. A test of a chemical might involve how it reacts with other chemicals. Companies and businesses use safety tests to see if their products are safe for customers. A pregnancy test analyzes body fluids for hormones to determine whether someone is pregnant. Used in a sentence: The scientists used several different tests to determine how much pollution was in the drinking water. Related to this sense, test can mean to put something through a trial or test or to try it. Real-life examples: People often test products before purchasing them. When buying a car, you can test how it drives by taking it on a test drive. Testing a person often involves making them endure some kind of trial. Used in a sentence: The boss is just testing you because you’re new—he wants to see if you can handle the pressure.

Synonym Usage

See trial.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• testability
  noun
• nontestable
  adjective
• nontesting
  adjective
• self-testing
  adjective
• testable
  adjective
• testing
  adjective
• untestable
  adjective
• untested
  adjective
• well-tested
  adjective
• testingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• testing
  present
• tested
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• test
  simple
• tests
  simple
• have tested
  perfect
• has tested
  perfect
• am testing
  progressive
• are testing
  progressive
• is testing
  progressive
• have been testing
  perfect progressive
• has been testing
  perfect progressive

Past

• tested
  simple
• had tested
  perfect
• was testing
  progressive
• were testing
  progressive
• had been testing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will test
  simple
• will have tested
  perfect
• will be testing
  progressive
• will have been testing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of test¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: test(e), tast(e) “crucible; cupel,” from Old French “test, teste,” Latin testū, testum “earthenware pot”; akin to test ²

Origin of test²

First recorded in 1840–45; from Latin testa “tile, shell, covering”; akin to test ¹

Explanation

If your boss tells you not to test her patience, she means don't push her today, because she might just snap. Surely you're familiar with vocabulary tests? In this case, someone is giving you difficult questions to see how much you know. Test more generally means "trial." If you test a soap on your skin, you use it on one small patch, to see if you'll have an allergic reaction. A drug test looks for the presence of drugs in your system. A difficult time in life is sometimes called "a test," because it's testing your strength to persevere.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

test test. Test. tests tested testing

Rather than relying on a single high-stakes test day, the exams could be held across multiple sessions with different sets of questions, he says.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

"By understanding how SET and related PP2A blockers help GBM survive treatment, we can test ways to block that protection and make current therapies more effective."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

After a paper test showing "positive results indicating the spread of volcanic ash in the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport area" the transport ministry extended the suspension to 9:30 am.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

Rather than test the market, Pohas has spent the past year making herself harder to replace.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

The whole purpose of it seemed to be to mess up my sim test tomorrow, something that I was not going to let happen under any circumstances.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

"I had no symptoms when I received my test. Not one. So I was really shocked when the results came back."

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

"We felt that airflow increase on the 4850 Level during that test. That's what made the correlation and triggered everything," Connot said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

“But when you walk down the streets of Los Angeles, it doesn’t feel like it, so she hasn’t passed the field test. That’s the problem.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

“Prostate cancer screenings. They’ve learned there is a simple, finger-free blood test. Roughly one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. And I was one of them.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

“There, instead of simulations, you get lie detector tests. All day, every day. And the final test. . .”

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

"We've got loads of time, there's about 12 weeks until the first Test. We'll see how the next little bit pans out."

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2025

“It’s really good for a young guy to put in a performance that wins England a Test. He was pretty emotional at the end. It’s a pretty cool day for him.”

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2024

“Brisbane is something we can look at. We came back and we won the Test. If we can replicate that, all of us will be really happy,” added Da Silva.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2024

Baum, meanwhile, insists that England must now press their advantage home and win the fifth Test. "2-2 would be a hollow outcome," he says.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 29, 2010

With the dress one may perhaps compare the apparel of the gods Marduk and Adad, for which see A. Jeremias, Das Alte Test. im Lichte des Alten Orients, 2nd ed., figs.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 "English Language" to "Epsom Salts" by Various

As the 007 team themselves have explained in the past, external: "Bond screen tests are elaborate affairs involving hair and make-up, costumes, sets, and other actors."

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

Plus, Ted Cruz tests the waters for a 2028 run, and Ford sets an ambitious goal for its new electric truck.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

The reduction in inflammation seen in the plasmalogen-treated mice could therefore help explain why they performed better on tests of learning and memory.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

Now, they hand the work to a program that breaks the task into steps, tests each one and retries what failed — routing through several models that are each billed separately.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

He made a beeline to the inner lab where Dr. Achebe and Dr. Carroll had done all his tests.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Among the compounds tested, pterostilbene produced the strongest reduction in intracellular lipid accumulation.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

Experts have told the BBC this is one of the first times they have seen copycat versions of an experimental drug, still in the throes of being tested, become so widely available.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

Officials said the previous time a bat tested positive for rabies in Yosemite was in July 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

“It’s not great, but we get tested, and we haven’t had too many problems,” said Ted Gioia, who oversees events and fundraising at Arion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

They’d all been prodded and tested, examined inside and out, and given fiendishly difficult tasks such as solving math problems while wearing headphones through which a friendly voice whispered incorrect answers.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Experts the BBC spoke to say the problems go beyond paper leaks - from NTA's accountability and capacity to exam centralisation, design and whether India's high-stakes testing system needs a rethink.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

Feliz Solomon and Shoshanna Solomon report on how a movement that views its mission as transcending secular laws is testing the limits of Israel’s pro-settler government.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

“After testing it out and seeing how much he had saved,” Lipinski said, “he brought it to a team meeting and everyone immediately thought it was a great idea.”

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

Yampolskiy points out we’ve been testing one AI thing at a time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

Some of the pots would make it and would be fired and ring true to a testing finger snap and be useful for gathering food and carrying water.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• analysis
• approval
• assessment
• attempt
• check
• evaluation
• experiment
• final
• inquiry
• inspection
• investigation
• search
• standard
• trial